Subtitles section Play video
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Coming out is never an easy thing to do.
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And I can't imagine being put in a position
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where you have no choice, but that's
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exactly what happened to our next guest.
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She's an incredibly talented makeup artist
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and influencer who revealed something incredibly private
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last week.
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Take a look.
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Hello, guys.
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It's me-- Nikkie.
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Today, I am here to share something with you
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that I've always wanted to share with you one day,
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but under my own circumstances-- and it
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looks like that chance has been taken away from me.
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When I was younger, I was born in the wrong body--
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which means that I am transgender.
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But there is one thing that I really, really want
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to make so clear to all of you--
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I am me.
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I am still Nikkie.
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[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
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Nikkie's video has been viewed more than 31 million times,
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and this is the first time she's sitting down and talking
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about exactly what happened.
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From the Netherlands, please welcome Nikkie Tutorials.
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Hi, Nikkie.
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Hello.
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So nice to meet you.
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Oh, my God.
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It's an honor.
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[LAUGHTER]
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I'm like, can you pinch me?
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Please?
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Yes, I can.
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OK?
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Oh, God, it hurts.
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It's real.
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Yes.
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Yeah.
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[LAUGHTER]
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So thank you for sitting down and--
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Thank you.
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And talking to us.
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And I know that this is a tricky situation--
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(EMPHATICALLY) Yeah.
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--and a lot has happened.
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But you found out that someone was--
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well, they were blackmailing you and threatening
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to reveal something.
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Yeah.
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How did you find that out?
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And is that why you posted this?
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Well, a couple of weeks ago, I got emails
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from a certain person.
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And he was not OK with the fact that I was lying
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and wanted to expose that.
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So he had a very pressuring tone of voice.
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And he was like, if we don't get an answer by tomorrow,
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it's out.
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And I feel like his entire goal was--
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with this-- to destroy my life.
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But plot twist. (CHUCKLES) That didn't happen.
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No, it did not.
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So the response has been fantastic, I know.
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It's been unreal.
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Good for you.
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I remember uploading the video, I was like, oh, I cannot do it.
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Then I started crying, and my fiancé, Dylan,
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was right next to me.
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He was like, you can do it.
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You can do it.
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So he really pushed me to post it.
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And he was like we're going to get through this.
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You're going to be OK.
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You're going to do this.
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And I put it up.
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And I was looking at my screen like this.
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I'm like, oh, God.
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Oh, God.
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Oh, God.
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And then people were like, we love you.
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We accept you.
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And I was so happy that it's 2020,
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and the acceptance is real.
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Yeah, well--
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Yeah.
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[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
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I know your mom has been very supportive and, of course,
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now your fiancé is supportive.
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At what age did you realize that you were in the wrong body?
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Well, it's funny because to me, I just always was so confused.
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I was like, why do I have to wear that?
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Or, why don't I have long hair?
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And I'm really grateful-- because I
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know that's not the case for everybody
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out there-- my mom is a queen.
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Momma Tutorials is a queen.
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Even when we went to the hospital to see what was going
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on, doctors were like, just don't--
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they were like, don't push it too far.
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Let's see where it goes.
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But then I came home and I was like, mom,
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I really want to wear girl clothes.
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And she was like, if you want to wear girl clothes,
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you're going to wear them.
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Even though doctors were like, you
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might want to wait with that a bit.
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Wow.
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Yeah.
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That's great-- that she was like that.
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Yeah.
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All right.
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So you posted these videos when you were actually
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still transitioning, right?
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Yeah.
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So people didn't even know that when-- during that time.
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And it wasn't like--
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you don't feel like you were lying.
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I mean, I don't think that was lying.
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First of all, it's your own private business.
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Yeah.
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And, again, you're teaching people how to put makeup on.
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Exactly.
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That's got nothing to do with anybody.
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Exactly.
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If you wouldn't have been blackmailed,
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do you think you would have come out?
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And if so--
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But when--
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Was that important to you or--
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I always wanted to come out with it,
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but it is such a delicate thing that--
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how do you find the timing?
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There is never the perfect timing.
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So in a way--
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because I'm not thankful to the person who did this--
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I am thankful that it happened now.
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And now I get to be free.
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And even though.
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I am-- I have privilege.
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I started when I was really young.
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I pass.
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I am blond.
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I started when I was younger.
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I look cis.
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And I want to take this opportunity
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to hopefully inspire a lot of transgender people out there.
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And even when you're starting later on in your journey,
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that we need to accept that.
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And it's hard, because I don't know.
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It's only been a week.
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I don't know where this is going to go.
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I don't know where I fit in, in this magical world.
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But as long as I get to be myself and inspire
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any "little Nikkie's" to be their selves,
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that's all I can do.
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And you will--
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[APPLAUSE]
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You'll inspire a lot of people.
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I mean, look, I think it's still so early for a lot of people
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to understand.
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And I think the more that someone
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sees someone else on television and says oh, that's
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what that is.
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Exactly.
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And it's not scary.
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And they're not going to hurt--
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We're not monsters, yeah.
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Yes.
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So I think it's really important for as many people as possible
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to be represented on television.
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And--
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Which, thank you for letting me be here.
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Because.
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I feel like if there's one person
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to get this message across globally--
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and you, like no other, know what it's like to come out.
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And just thank you--
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Well, you're--
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--for this honor.
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[APPLAUSE]
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--welcome.
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Thank you very much for being here.
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[APPLAUSE]
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The Trevor Project-- if you don't know about the Trevor
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Project, it's a nonprofit that provides resources for LGBTQ+
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youth.
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And thanks to Shutterfly, we're going
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to make a $10,000 donation in your name.
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[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
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(LAUGHS)
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Go to our website to find out more about the Trevor Project.
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We'll be right back.